US marines lace up their boots during mountain warfare drills with South Korean marines in Pohang, about 370 km (230 miles) southeast of Seoul, March 9, 2010. The US and South Korean militaries confirmed on June 19, 2018, that they have called off upcoming joint exercises after President Donald pledged to halt the drills in the wake of his summit with North Korea鈥檚 Kim Jong Un. AFP
SEOUL, South Korea 鈥� The US and South Korean militaries confirmed Tuesday they have called off upcoming joint exercises after President Donald pledged to halt the drills in the wake of his summit with North Korea鈥檚 Kim Jong Un.
Seoul, which has tens of thousands of US troops on its soil to help protect it from its hostile northern neighbor, said the suspension would affect the large-scale Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercises slated for August.
鈥淪outh Korea and the US plan to continue discussions for further measures,鈥� the defense ministry said in a statement, adding that 鈥渘o decisions have been reached for other ensuing drills.鈥�
Some 17,500 US military personnel were due to take part in the Freedom Guardian drills.
鈥淲e are still coordinating additional actions. No decisions on subsequent war games have been made,鈥� Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said in confirming the suspension.
鈥淭here is no impact on Pacific exercises outside of the Korean Peninsula.鈥�
White said US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Advisor John Bolton would meet later this week at the Pentagon to discuss the issue.
Last week, Trump said the US would halt 鈥渨ar games鈥� with its South Korean security ally 鈥� without making clear when the freeze would begin.
The US leader raised eyebrows by describing the exercises as 鈥減rovocative鈥� 鈥� a term used by the North.
US and South Korean forces have been training together for years, and routinely rehearse everything from beach landings to an invasion from the North, or even 鈥渄ecapitation鈥� strikes targeting the North Korean regime.
Pyongyang typically reacts furiously. Following drills last year, the North fired ballistic missiles over Japan, triggering global alarm.
At their landmark Singapore summit, Trump and Kim signed a joint statement in which North Korea committed to 鈥渨ork toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.鈥�
But critics have pointed to the vague wording of the non-binding document and raised fears that the summit would weaken the international coalition against the North鈥檚 nuclear program.
Pompeo, who has stressed that聽sanctions would remain in place until North Korea鈥檚 complete denuclearization, said he plans to meet Kim for follow-up talks.
South Korea said sanctions against North Korea could be eased once it takes 鈥渟ubstantive steps towards denuclearization,鈥� seemingly setting the bar lower than Washington for such a move.
But Pompeo鈥檚 office said both allies remain 鈥渃ommitted to the goal of complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization.鈥� /cbb